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23 August, 2013

And then the last three samples came upon them, from the benevolence of China Chadao, and there was much rejoicing and heating of kettles.

Given your razor-sharp deductive powers, you will, Gentle Reader, undoubtedly surmise that I drank the first of these samples ("epsilon") out in the garden. You may also recall that I received the samples in unanonymised format, and hence knew in advance to break out the shupu pot for this 2012 Douji "Phoenix Shupu".

I spent a happy afternoon under our willow tree, where the somewhat dodgy white-balance in the above photograph will also allow you to conclude that I had only my ipad available, instead of my trusty (and now rather reverend) Nikon.

The tea was fine. It was a bit empty, and definitely "shupu", but it was fine. I didn't give it a very fair shake of the dice, because the water I have available for brewing under the willow tree amounts to a vacuum flask filled with hot filtered water, rather than my usual tetsubin + spring water. After a few infusions, it had worked whatever magic it was going to work. I'm not convinced that Douji has really nailed shupu yet.

Back in the comfort of the house, I gave "zeta" its full hour in the sun.

As you will see from the leaves pictured above and below, this is unpressed maocha. It is, according to Mr. Jerry, the 2011 Douji "Pashi" special maocha, which is not for sale. There is a number of products that Douji distributors get as "specials", not for normal resale, and I suspect that this might be one of them. I remember that these "specials" are indeed rather special.

I suspect that "Pashi" refers to Mengpashashan. This has long, beautiful leaves and the sweet scent of fresh pu'ercha that makes it all worth while.

The soup is orange already, as shown above, and has the densely humid (almost liquorice-like) flavour of darkened 'Banna leaves. It has plenty to keep my attention, and is smooth with a rounded texture that pads the mouth nicely. There is a reasonable finish, although not much in the way of kuwei [good bitterness], which is something that I associate as being a danger with storing maocha: it can run out of steam very early. The storage conditions imparted from the presumably South-China storage are homogenising but enjoyable. "A touch generic. A lot of caffeine - a lot!" I have noted in my journal for the day.

Finally, the "eta" sample...

The leaves have darkened already, and have, again, the scent of South Chinese storage: bookish, dark, and rich. The leaves themselves are small and fragmented, as with many Douji cakes.

The warm, humid scent continues into the wenxiangbei [aroma cup], with a heavy orange soup that has aged well: bitterness remains, but it has filled out into a warm, broad base. It feels "bottom heavy", which is a good thing for a pu'ercha, given that the base of the tea tends to age at the expense of the "top notes".

It has all the richness of a good 'Banna tea. It is, in fact, the 2010 Douji "Youleshan" from their single-mountain range. These are usually quite decent examples of their mountain, if typically rather pricey such that I stopped buying them around 2008-9.

With many thanks to Jerry for the fun set of samples, I hand the floor over to you, Gentle Reader, for a comparison with your own notes, if you have them.

Final notes from these two separate tasting events. Once again, thank you David for offering these tasting events to your readers and allowing such a great opportunity to learn and share. Also, thank you Scott and Jerry for offering these samples, it is very much appreciated.

Epsilon - brewed in a gaiwan (I do not have a yixing dedicated to shu as of now); definitely shu appearing and smelling (I aired out the sample for about 2 days prior to brewing); this tea seemed thin in the mouth and pretty plain throughout 8 infusions; around the 5th brew it mellowed out making it more enjoyable (began to lose that shu "muddiness" and gain a little sweetness), but overall "muddy, weak, unflavorful, and uninteresting"

**I will add that I am not the person to ask about shu puerh. I can count the number of different shus I've had using one hand and I'd still have a finger or two left over. I really don't drink the stuff, so my review is possibly less a review of this particular tea and more a confirmation (to myself) of why I prefer sheng puerh.

Zeta - definitely maocha; large leaves with some yellow leaves and buds; some vegetal, grassy notes without any bitterness; gave some activity in the back of the mouth and throat; smooth and pleasant

Eta - slight smokiness, but very earthy and had some higher notes in the dry leaf scent; had an underlying bitterness in the early brews, with some activity in the mouth and throat, as well as the stomach later on; overall pretty interesting and smooth

Sorry for the comment unrelated to the post, but I have no idea where could I post my question. You have mentioned that you use spring water for your tea, what is your (hopefully not so secret) source? (: I've tried filtered water here in Scotland and it is horrible!